Black Friday vs. Hearth, Home and the Studio

I use to like to buy things a lot when I was younger and I guess I still do but now it's mostly art or paper craft supplies. I didn't do any shopping on Black Friday or Cyber Monday. I don't think I've ever gone shopping on Black Friday, if memory serves correctly. I find that Black Friday is a better time for hearth, home and reflection on what I am thankful for. The thought of facing big crowds after Thanksgiving almost makes me physically sick. For years people have been suggesting that I get an online store on etsy. Finally, yesterday I opened one for my card line which is called Love Bird Designs. I figure, I've made about 175 cards since September and at that rate soon my studio will look like I'm a hoarder so I might as well get rid of some of these cards. I've been making Love Bird Designs since the late 80s but usually only to be given away for Christmas or Yule. I have found some new toys I like to use in the cardmaking over the past year. I added: embossing, die-cutting and my spiffy scissor collection. Someone gave me a demo on embossing at Paper Source. Love that store but need to stay out of there because I end up spending too much money there. In terms of collage techniques, I use to do a lot of burnt edges and sewing into the cards too, and plan to reintegrate that into the work. This image is of one of the cards I made in the fall. It contains banana paper, tobacco paper, some embossing, stamping, die-cut fabric and lots of layers. My etsy store is here: http://www.etsy.com/shop/stephaniebird2

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